The invention relates to a vent means for a surgical (orthopedic) cast, and the assembly of said vent means with a cast and stockingette or the like. It is well known that when a patient has a cast on for any period of time, irritation of the skin covered by the cast may ensue, odors are given off by the portion of the patient covered by the cast, and infection may occur. Therefore, it has been proposed in the prior art to provide ventilation means for casts to facilitate circulation of air to the portion of a patient's body covered by the cast in order to minimize the irritation, etc., thereof. Exemplary prior art proposals are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,704,067, 3,116,731, 3,656,477, and 3,762,406.
None of the above-mentioned prior art proposals have met with a great deal of commercial success or acceptance, undoubtedly due in part to problems associated with the installation thereof and irritation of the patient's skin thereby, and a lack of complete effective circulation. For instance, the vents shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,067 may result in "pouting" of the skin of a patient, and a large number thereof are required to be effective. In one embodiment of the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,731 a convex portion of the vent means is provided, which convex portion may make the vent difficult to install, and the tapered point of which may cause irritation to a patient, while in another embodiment thereof maximum ventilation for a given size is not achieved. The device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,406 directs itself to the problem of "pouting", however an accessory member must be provided therefore, and the area of ventilation is relatively small compared to the total size of the vent means. U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,477 requires the fastening of a cylindrical vent member to a stockingette or the like, and does not provide maximum ventilation for the size of the vent means.
According to the present invention, a vent means for a surgical cast is provided which provides a maximum amount of ventilation for a given size while having the potential of causing a minimum amount of irritation to the skin of the patient. According to the present invention, the vent means consists of a generally disc-shaped portion having two faces thereof disposed in the same general plane, a bore extending through one face of the portion, but not extending through the face thereof adapted to be disposed adjacent the skin of the patient, a plurality of radially extending passageways extending from the circumference of the disc-shaped portion to the central bore, and a generally cylindrical or conical upstanding portion extending from the disc-shaped portion exteriorly of the cast, and having a bore therein in fluid communication with the central bore of the disc-shaped portion and passageways. With such a provision, there is no tendency for the skin of the wearer to be brought up into a ventilation conduit, even upon the application of a vacuum to such conduit, and the chances of skin irritation are minimized. In addition, a maximum amount of ventilation for a given size is provided since the passageways extend generally along the lengths of the cast walls and provide for 360.degree. drawing of air.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved surgical cast ventilating means. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.